Exercise files

Quick reference

Deliverables Deployment

Deliverables Deployment is a project management technique for identifying all tasks and activities that comprise the project scope.

When to use

The Deliverables Deployment technique is appropriate when there is no standard process describing the project effort needed to complete the work of a required project deliverable. When a standard process exists, the process steps describe the scope of activities and deliverables deployment is not required.

Instructions

The Deliverables Deployment technique provides a structured approach for thinking through all of the activities that must be accomplished.

For each deliverable ask the question, “What must I do to complete this deliverable?”

For each of the items identified in question 2, ask again, “What must I do to complete that item?”

Continue with step 3 until all of the required project activities are identified.

Hints & tips

The listed activities are the elements of Project Scope.

The work required to do the listed activities must be estimated and appropriate resources assigned to conduct the activities in order to complete the project.

If the deliverables are deployed correctly, when all of the listed activities are completed the project is complete.

You can start from the deliverable and work backward, or start from where you are and work forward to the deliverable – in either case identify all of the steps or activities required to complete the deliverable.

There is a tendency to overlook common basic activities because, “Everyone knows you have to do that!” List them anyway. If they are not on the list, the project plan will not allocate time and resources to do the work. Then when the activity is done, it shows up as a delay or overrun because it was not in the plan.

You can carry this technique to an extreme by breaking everything down to a minute detail. A good rule of thumb is to break activities down into half-day or full-day increments of work.

All of these details do not need to be listed on the project plan – you can summarize them. But know the details when you begin to estimate the effort and time to do the work.

Deliverable: Any unique and verifiable product, result or capability to perform a service that is required to be produced to complete a process, phase or project. PMBOK®Guide

This definition is taken from the Glossary of the Project Management Institute, A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, (PMBOK®Guide) – Sixth Edition, Project Management Institute, Inc., 2017.